Shi Qiang
Names: Shi QiangDa ShiBig ShiCaptain ShiCaptainOfficer ShiUncle Shi
First appears in Book 1: The Three-Body Problem, chapter 4 (4)
Appearances
What you know
Book 1: The Three-Body Problem
- Ch 4Shi Qiang is a crude, chain-smoking police captain with a bad record, but he is very observant and was requested by General Chang.
- Ch 4Shi was once a soldier under Chang's command; he was suspended for misconduct and demands 'information parity' for the police.
- Ch 4Shi is blunt and mocking, a veteran beat officer and antiterrorism expert who disagrees with sending Wang because so many scholars have killed themselves.
- Ch 4Twenty years ago Shi served as a soldier in Chang's company.
- Ch 6Shi, a roguish police investigator, is tailing Wang in a black Volkswagen Santana and asks whether Wang learned anything useful.
- Ch 9Shi Qiang finds Wang crying outside the church and laughs, saying another one bites the dust.
- Ch 10Da Shi is a police officer transferred from the crime unit to the Battle Command Center, where he runs errands; he has a vocational-school education and was once in the army.
- Ch 10Da Shi has an 'ultimate rule': anything sufficiently weird must be fishy, meaning someone is always behind unexplained things.
- Ch 10Da Shi says he knows little because his pay grade is low, but has connected the dots on many strange events.
- Ch 10Da Shi concludes a hidden, coordinated plan aims to ruin scientific research by sabotage, killing scientists, driving them to suicide and confusing their thinking, and discrediting science.
- Ch 10Da Shi advises Wang to keep going to work and researching, and to play the Three Body game if he wants to relax.
- Ch 11Advised Wang to drink more to sleep; Wang regards him as a man who fears nothing because he knows nothing.
- Ch 16Da Shi summoned Wang Miao at three in the morning to advise on Wei Cheng's report, before telling the Battle Command Center.
- Ch 16Da Shi uses the suspected illegal firearm as grounds for an immediate search of Wei's home.
- Ch 16Da Shi's rule that everything is the work of people has become famous.
- Ch 18Shi Qiang tells Wang by text that police also see Pan and to carry on playing the fanatic.
- Ch 24Shi Qiang leads a real army assault on the cafeteria and defuses the nuclear threat by guessing the young woman's emotional weakness about her mother.
- Ch 24Shi suffered severe radiation contamination and a head wound, but survived because another man's body shielded him.
- Ch 31Proposed the plan: string Flying Blade filaments across the canal to slice through the ship and kill the crew without damaging equipment.
- Ch 31A police detective who claims criminals' out-of-the-box thinking trained him; he is rude and clashes with Colonel Stanton, but his plan is accepted.
- Ch 31Shi Qiang devised the deadly zither plan; Wang briefly hated him for it, then wished he were beside him.
- Ch 34Da Shi drives the drunk Wang and Ding to his hometown in Hebei to show them a locust plague and lift their spirits.
- Ch 34Da Shi asks whether the technological gap between humans and Trisolarans is greater than that between locusts and humans, jolting both scientists out of despair.
Book 2: The Dark Forest
- Ch 2Shi Qiang, a former municipal antiterrorism squad chief, now works in the PDC's security department combatting the ETO.
- Ch 2Shi Qiang is a former policeman, now called Captain, who keeps Luo Ji company and says he is there to help.
- Ch 2Shi Qiang has been involved in sixteen death-penalty cases, personally escorting nine of the condemned, and says he never makes moral judgments.
- Ch 2Shi Qiang is ill, with bleeding teeth, and has been scheduled for hibernation by his superiors, though he keeps putting it off.
- Ch 2Shi Qiang and his team found a meeting place in a previous operation, which earned them credit over Chang Weisi's former subordinates.
- Ch 2Shi Qiang is not a police officer and asks to be called Da Shi; he says his work is breaking scams.
- Ch 2Shi Qiang teaches Luo Ji interrogation techniques and says true shrewdness is to hide it and seem unthreatening, unnoticed until the final moment.
- Ch 2Shi Qiang says he has a premonition that Luo Ji needs to become a person who can bluff and deceive.
- Ch 2Shi Qiang is responsible for Luo Ji's security and insists Luo Ji wear his own clothes to the session; he does not know the purpose of the visit.
- Ch 2Waits outside for Luo Ji; at that moment he is Luo Ji's sole spiritual support.
- Ch 2Shi Qiang is in the Planetary Defense Security Department and is in charge of Luo Ji's safety; he will obey Luo Ji's instructions.
- Ch 2Shi Qiang has a more careful manner and expressionless face toward Luo Ji since the announcement.
- Ch 3Shi Qiang is ill and soon leaving the country on a mission; he tells his jailed son to take responsibility for his actions.
- Ch 3Shi Qiang infers the dream woman's background and appearance from Luo Ji's talk and produces a portrait Luo Ji says needs no changes.
- Ch 3Shi Qiang defends Luo Ji to Kent, saying they are order-followers and that Luo Ji's carefree behavior may be part of a plan.
- Ch 3Shi Qiang found Zhuang Yan for Luo Ji, calling it his final mission; he has leukemia from irradiation and will hibernate to seek a future cure.
- Ch 3Shi Qiang asks Luo Ji to carry on the Shi family lineage four hundred years from now.
- Ch 7Shi Qiang reawakened two months before Luo Ji, was cured of leukemia and liver risk, and picks Luo Ji up.
- Ch 7Shi Qiang explains that flying cars use wireless microwave power, not perpetual motion, and that everyone has an ID chip implanted in the arm.
- Ch 7Shi Qiang saves Luo Ji from a crashing flying car, and later from a robot server's knife, acting on suspicion of assassination attempts.
- Ch 7Shi Qiang is retired; his former unit now belongs to the Asian Fleet, which he jokingly calls a big country making him a foreigner.
- Ch 7Shi Qiang lives on branch 106 near the top of tree #1863, in temporary quarters provided by the fleet.
- Ch 7Shi Qiang learned two days earlier that his son Xiaoming is alive; Xiaoming hibernated to come to the future and will visit tomorrow.
- Ch 7Shi Qiang repeatedly saves Luo Ji's life, cutting the strangling sofa tentacles with a knife and prying them away.
- Ch 7Reunites with his son Shi Xiaoming, who tells him his wife died in Year 34 and their granddaughter died in Year 105.
- Ch 7Appointed chief of police for New Life Village #5, he stays calm during the celebrations and defused the crowd's anger at the legislator with tomatoes.
- Ch 8Given emergency appointment as local chief executive of his hibernator neighborhood, he proposes migrating to the sparsely populated northwest and preparing to survive by agriculture.
- Ch 8Shi Qiang doubts Luo Ji's claims but helps him seek an audience with the mayor, reasoning that Luo Ji was chosen two centuries ago for a reason.
- Ch 8He waited for Luo Ji, joked that nothing would happen, and rejoined him after the droplet's behaviour became clear.
- Ch 8He knew Ding Yi, whom he calls broad-minded with a death wish, and says an intellectual he met two centuries ago lived to nearly a hundred.
- Ch 8Shi Qiang accompanies Luo Ji, does not believe he is an angel or a spokesman, and says he is genuinely confused.
Connections
- member ofBattle Command Center
- related toChang WeisiServed as a soldier in Chang's company twenty years ago
- related toWang Miaofollows and surveils him
- ally ofChang WeisiOld army subordinate; Chang had him transferred
- friend ofWang Miao
- member ofCriminal Division
- ally ofWang Miao
- createdOperation Guzhengproposed the plan
- createddeadly zitherconceived the plan
- friend ofDing Yi
- family ofShi Xiaomingfather and son
- member ofPlanetary Defense Council
- has memberZhengsubordinate
- related toLuo Jiescorts Luo Ji to his destination
- friend ofLuo Ji
- member ofPlanetary Defense Security Department
- ally ofLuo Jipart of his protective detail
- ally ofMr. Kentcolleagues working together
- related toZhang XiangZhang succeeded Shi, who warned him some things can't be defended against
- member ofAsian Fleethis former unit now belongs to the fleet; fleet gave him housing
- leadsNew Life Village #5chief of police
- related tothe mayorformer superior and fellow hibernator countryman
- friend ofGuo ZhengmingGuo recommended Shi Qiang to the mayor; they know each other
Key moments
- Book 1 · Ch 4Wang summoned to the Battle Command Center meeting
After a rude visit from Captain Shi and the police, army officers invite Wang to a meeting where General Chang briefs scholars, police and foreign observers on attacks against scientists.
- Book 1 · Ch 4Physicist suicides revealed
Chang reveals that all physicists on the list killed themselves in the last two months, the last being Yang Dong. Her note claims physics does not exist, and Wang is devastated.
- Book 1 · Ch 4Wang agrees to join the Frontiers of Science
After Chang dismisses him, Wang argues with Shi, who mocks him and the dead scholars. Provoked, Wang reverses his refusal and agrees to join the Frontiers of Science to prove Shi wrong.
- Book 1 · Ch 9Breakdown at St. Joseph's Church
After Shen Yufei refuses to answer him, Wang wanders until dawn, hears a hymn at St. Joseph's, breaks down crying, and is found by Shi Qiang.
- Book 1 · Ch 10Drinking with Da Shi
Da Shi takes Wang Miao to a restaurant, where Wang, drinking, recounts three days of events; Da Shi dismisses his philosophical worries, then Wang sleeps it off in the car.
- Book 1 · Ch 10Da Shi explains his theory
By the Forbidden City moat, Da Shi lays out his theory of a coordinated plan to destroy science, a global military alert against an unknown enemy, and urges Wang to keep working and play Three Body.
- Book 1 · Ch 16Wei Cheng reports a death threat
At Da Shi's office, Wei Cheng tells his life story and reports an anonymous call threatening death unless he stops his three-body research, plus a frightening nighttime encounter with Shen Yufei.
- Book 1 · Ch 16Search and discovery of Shen's body
Da Shi's team goes to Wei's home to search for a gun and arrives as shots have just been fired. They find Shen shot dead; the gunman escapes in a black Santana.
- Book 1 · Ch 16Wei reveals the argument with Pan Han
Wei tells police that Shen and Pan Han argued in Chinese about the Lord, the commander, and the Adventists and Redemptionists, with Pan threatening to stop her.
- Book 1 · Ch 24Army raid on the ETO cafeteria
Soldiers led by Shi Qiang storm the cafeteria and surround the ETO. Three ETO members grab nuclear bomb spheres from the sculpture and demand Ye's release.
- Book 1 · Ch 24Bomb defused by deception
Da Shi claims her mother has been found, distracting the young woman. A shooter shoots near her, triggering only the conventional explosive. She dies, and over two hundred ETO members are arrested.
- Book 1 · Ch 31Meeting to plan the capture of Judgment Day
Military officers reject ball lightning, neutron bombs, nerve gas, concussion bombs and infrasound. Shi Qiang proposes a net of Flying Blade filaments across the canal; it is accepted and refined to the Gaillard Cut.
- Book 1 · Ch 34Drunken despair
Wang Miao and Ding Yi, very drunk, tell Da Shi that science is doomed by the sophons and toast humans as bugs about to go extinct.
- Book 1 · Ch 34Locust field lesson
Da Shi drives them to wheat fields in Hebei covered with locusts and asks if the human-Trisolaran gap exceeds that between humans and locusts. Moved by the bugs' resilience, Wang and Ding pour out wine, thank him and resolve to return to work.
- Book 2 · Ch 2Luo Ji moved under guard
Shi Qiang and Zheng give Luo Ji a bulletproof jacket and take him from the underground shelter in an armored convoy on an hour-long drive.
- Book 2 · Ch 2Luo Ji boards the secret plane
Shi Qiang takes Luo Ji to a military airport, where they board an unmarked charter jet with strict safety rules and take off at sunset.
- Book 2 · Ch 2Night flight and interrogation lessons
Shi Qiang teaches Luo Ji interrogation and deception techniques. Later Luo Ji sees fighter jets escorting the plane.
- Book 2 · Ch 2Arrival at the United Nations
After a tense flight with an escort mishap, Luo Ji lands, is met by Kent, driven in a convoy to the UN building and taken to the Meditation Room before an important session.
- Book 2 · Ch 2Luo Ji shot outside the UN
Wandering out unprotected, Luo Ji is shot in the chest by an ETO assassin near the swords-to-plowshares statue. Shi Qiang's security team saves him and takes him to hospital.
- Book 2 · Ch 2Luo Ji meets the assailant and questions his protection
Luo Ji confronts the captured assassin, who mocks his misunderstanding. Luo Ji then notes heavy military security and Kent's role as liaison, despite his refusal.
- Book 2 · Ch 3Luo Ji arrives at the lakeside estate
Luo Ji is taken to a dream-like estate matching his sketch, toured by Kent, and requests Chinese guards, deciding to ignore the Wallfacer Project for now.
- Book 2 · Ch 3Shi Qiang draws Luo Ji's dream woman
Luo Ji asks Shi Qiang to find the woman of his dreams; Shi Qiang deduces her traits and makes a portrait Luo Ji accepts. Kent reluctantly agrees to report the request.
- Book 2 · Ch 3Trip to the snow mountain
Luo Ji and Zhuang Yan sail and drive to a snow mountain. He admits he doesn't know why he was chosen; Shi Qiang calls to reveal his illness and hibernation.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Reunion with Shi Qiang
Shi Qiang meets Luo Ji, gives him adjustable clothes and takes him out into the new world. Yamasuki meanwhile tries to speak at the hearing.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Luo Ji and Shi Qiang tour the new city
Luo Ji learns of his fortune from a banking counselor, then discovers that the flying cars use wireless power and sophons still block science, while Shi Qiang calls these good times.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Flying car crash
A driverless flying car crashes where Luo Ji stood; Shi Qiang tackles him clear. Police treat it as an accident, though Shi Qiang suspects assassination and files a report.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Sewer cover opens
Near Shi Qiang's tree a sewer cover slides open under Luo Ji, and Shi Qiang catches him. The worker blames a software failure.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Robot server attacks Luo Ji
In a restaurant a robot server stabs a knife where Luo Ji's heart would be; Shi Qiang pulls him away. The engineer shuts it down, blaming software failure.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Sofa attack and Killer 5.2 revealed
The wrong sleeping pills turn out to be suicide hibernation medicine, then a sofa tries to strangle Luo Ji. Officer Guo arrives, firewalls the home, explains Killer 5.2 and advises living on the surface.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Luo Ji and Shi Qiang reach the surface
Shi Qiang reunites with his son Shi Xiaoming on the sandy surface, and they visit a hibernator village where neighbors recount the Great Ravine and its aftermath.
- Book 2 · Ch 8Earth reels from the fleet's destruction
Mass mental breakdown sweeps Earth after the fleet's destruction is seen. Shi Qiang, in charge of a hibernator neighborhood, urges migration to the northwest and agricultural preparation.
- Book 2 · Ch 8Luo Ji seeks the mayor
Hearing of the Battle of Darkness, Luo Ji declares himself vindicated and goes with Shi Qiang through the chaotic underground city to City Hall to meet the new mayor.
- Book 2 · Ch 8Meeting the mayor
Luo Ji and Shi Qiang meet the mayor, who refuses help, describes social collapse and Escapism riots, and offers Shi Qiang a job.
- Book 2 · Ch 8Luo Ji awaits the droplet
Luo Ji parts from Shi Qiang and waits in the desert, reviewing his life, believing the droplet will strike him.
- Book 2 · Ch 8The droplet seals off the sun
The droplet stops at a Lagrange point and broadcasts radio at the sun, blocking its use as a message amplifier. Luo Ji survives and reunites with Shi Qiang.
- Book 2 · Ch 8The crowd kneels to Luo Ji
A glowing crowd near New Life Village waits for Luo Ji, kneels to him as an angel or spokesman, and Hines and Jonathan announce the Wallfacer Project's revival and 187J3X1's destruction. Luo Ji asks for order to be restored and everyone to go home.
- Book 2 · Ch 8Luo Ji explains cosmic sociology
In the dark desert, using two cigarettes as two planets, Luo Ji leads Shi Qiang through the axioms, chain of suspicion and technological explosion, concluding that once a civilization learns of another, only eradication remains.
- Book 2 · Ch 8Luo Ji explains the dark forest
Luo Ji tells Shi Qiang how the dark forest theory underlies his spell, why it cannot be sent now, and why humanity could never have used it against Trisolaris.